Senate Ends March Madness With Lots of State Dept Confirmations

On March 29, the U.S. Senate finally got around to confirming the following nominees for the State Department and USAID.

PN1110 * State/RTara D. Sonenshine, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy.

PN1129 * State/Conflict and Stabilization OperationsFrederick D. Barton, of Maine, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Conflict and Stabilization Operations).

PN1130 * State/Reconstruction and Stabilization.Frederick D. Barton, of Maine, to be Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization.

PN755 * State/R/PAMichael A. Hammer, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Public Affairs).

PN1003 * State/WHARoberta S. Jacobson, of Maryland, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service,
to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Western Hemisphere Affairs).

PN1038 * State/UN/ECOSOCElizabeth M. Cousens, of Washington, to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador.

PN1039 * State/UNGAElizabeth M. Cousens, of Washington, to be an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

PN1109 * State/PRMAnne Claire Richard, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).

PN1231 * State/DGHRLinda Thomas-Greenfield, of Louisiana, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Director General of the Foreign Service.

PN1053 * Republic of MaltaGina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley, of Ohio, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Malta.

PN1054 * Oriental Republic of UruguayJulissa Reynoso, of New York, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

PN1055 * Togolese RepublicRobert E. Whitehead, of Florida, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Togolese Republic.

PN1086 * Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesLarry Leon Palmer, of Georgia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Barbados, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

PN1169 * Republic of PanamaJonathan Don Farrar, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Panama.

PN1172 * Nicaragua
Phyllis Marie Powers, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Republic of Nicaragua.

PN1173 * Kingdom of CambodiaWilliam E. Todd, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

PN1182 * Tunisian RepublicJacob Walles, of Delaware, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Tunisian Republic.

PN1199 * IndiaNancy J. Powell, of Iowa, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Personal Rank of Career Ambassador, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to India.

PN1232 * Republic of HaitiPamela A. White, of Maine, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Haiti.

PN1233 * Libya.John Christopher Stevens, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Libya.

PN1234 * Republic of KosovoTracey Ann Jacobson, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Kosovo.

PN1371 * CroatiaKenneth Merten, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Croatia.

PN1399 * LatviaMark A. Pekala, of Maryland, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Latvia.

PN1400 * GeorgiaRichard B. Norland, of Iowa, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Georgia.

PN1401 * Republic of EstoniaJeffrey D. Levine, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Estonia.

PN1002 * USAIDEarl W. Gast, of California, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development

Over a dozen State Department nominations remain pending in committee including the January 2011 nomination of Matthew J. Bryza for Azerbaijan, and the October 2011 nomination of Sharon Villarosa for the Republic Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Update:One of our readers alerted us to the news that Ambassador Bryza resigned from the Foreign Service in January and reportedly residing in Istanbul. A press clip from early March identifies Ambassador Bryza as the new director of the Tallinn-based International Center for Defense Studies. In which case, nobody has bothered to notify Congress of this development as his name is still listed as pending “In the Committee on Foreign Relations.” Al Kamen has a list of other State nominees who missed the confirmation train. The names are no longer listed as “pending” in the SFRC as they have been cleared by the Committee but have yet to get their full Senate vote.